Posted: Sun, Dec 31, 2017, 9:30 AM ET (1430 GMT)
Controllers have restored contact with the Angosat-1 communications satellite, which was unresponsive for a day after its launch Tuesday. A Zenit rocket launched the satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 2:00 pm EST (1900 GMT) Tuesday and released the Russian-built satellite into geostationary transfer orbit about nine hours later. However, controllers were unable to maintain contact with the satellite shortly after its deployment, restoring communications only on Thursday. Russian sources suspect a battery issue on the satellite may have caused the loss of communications. The satellite, built by RSC Energia for the government of Angola, carries 16 C-band and 6 Ku-band transponders and will operate from 13 degrees east.